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In an age when most things are built to throw away, I came across two situation, one with windows and the other, a ductless mini-split unit that is worth crowing about.

First off, I received a call from a repeat client that had a home built about 10 years ago, the builder had gone out of business years ago, but since we had a successful remodeling experience, he considers us his contractor.

“My window seals are failing”

Several of his many windows had failed seals and he was ready to have them replaced. I told him that most window manufacturers have a replacement policy for that sort of thing. “I think it is about 10 years”, I told him.

I agreed to come take a look and see what we could figure out. Sure enough I found the born on date between the panes. He had just passed the 10 year mark. “SHUCKS”, I blurted our (or something close to that).

Where the rubber meets the road

I contacted Troy Stone of Wood Windows Inc. (my Milgard guy) anyway just to verify what I assumed. Troy gave me the Milgard representatives cell number. Without skipping a beat I contacted Jeff on his cell. Explaining my situation, he quickly made it clear that “Milgard has a lifetime warranty on their window seals”.

After high fiving my client, a meeting was set for the following day. Talking to Troy later in the day, he said “Strong work Joe, most contractors would never made the call. They would have taken his order to replace the windows.”

The last thing I want to do is say, “Sorry (your name here), your window seals are failed and you are out of the manufacturer’s warranty period”

Happily ever after

• What are the odds that the builder bought these windows because of the warranty?
• What are the odds that the owner was told about the warranty when he picked them out?
• Were there other less expensive options that he passed on for great quality?

Why on earth would they ever do this?

Milgard and every other company that offers a limited lifetime warranty like Levco, does is that we get to learn from our past projects and fix things as we evolve to make better outcomes. In the past 10 years we have gotten better for many reasons, one painful, but really effective way is by learning from our mistakes.

Cost VS. Value is the eternal struggle.

Odds are you didn’t pick Levco for your remodeling project because we were the cheapest. At some point the value is tapped out and cost is the most important thing. I understand that cost is no object clients exist, however my clients rarely fit into this niche.

Some of my clients ask in a serious way, “Is there anything we can do to make the project cost less”? Why yes there is, I tell them, “Reducing the scope of work is the first place to look”. The material budget is a place to look too, but rarely affects the budget as substantially as you would expect. The price we provide is for a great overall project, the finish materials that you’ve selected with our assistance are of (good to great) quality put together by craftsman that care. You have to take my word for it. We learned long ago that “Putting low quality finish materials in your project is something that we refuse to do because we cannot stand behind them.”

At Levco, we share the cost of material selections with our clients as they chose them. This is a rare thing. No one should be surprised at the final presentation of the project cost after everything is known.

Buy quality products and they will reward you many times over

In another instance, I am having an LG ductless split HVAC system replaced right now because after several attempts to repair the new unit , my client lost confidence in the entire thing. Figuring that it was jinxed, we were able to convince LG (without much effort) that it was in everyone’s best interest to have a great LG unit in his home.

The sweet spot for Levco

Great materials installed by someone that does not care is just as harmful. Granted, not every project requires the same “top of the line” mentality. In my world “Great quality and Cost is no object, are not mutually exclusive”. We have made a niche out of finding the sweet spot where building with quality materials put in in a craftsman like manor pays off for everyone. The most important take home message is that without a remodeling contractor that cares, neither of these situations would have had a happy ending.

Post Script

The windows are scheduled to be replaced in a few weeks and the new mini-split is installed and working as promised.

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Your comments are welcome. To ask questions or get more information about remodeling, click here to email me directly, or call 208-947-7261

If you or someone you know is considering remodeling or just wants to speak to a trustworthy remodeling contractor please contact me, you’ll be glad you did.

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